Shelter construction and fasteners therefor



SHELTER CONSTRUCTION AND FASTENERS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 15, 1963 M. E. NEREM Nov. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MARI 1N5. NEREM %%WM f7 1 To ,z/vz v.5

1965 M. E. NEREM 3,219,383

SHELTER CONSTRUCTION AND FASTENERS THEREFOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 15 1965 N :r INVENTOR.

MAR v/Nf. NEREM WQuWzQ KMZ fl 7' TORNE Y's M WM Nov. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 15, 1963 IN VEN TOR. MARI 0V5. NEREM Nov. 23, 1965 NEREM 3,219,383

SHELTER CONSTRUCTION AND FASTENERS THEREFOR Filed NOV. 15, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. MARV/Nf/VEREM A rroxa/vz Y-s United States Patent 3,219,383 SHELTER CONSTRUCTION AND FASTENERS THEREFUR Marvin E. Net-em, Forest City, Iowa, assignor to Winnehago Industries, Inc., Forest City, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Filed Nov. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 324,056 16 Claims. (Cl. 29623) The present invention relates to collapsible shelters and to an improved connecting or fastening assembly for securing the walls of the shelter together. While the invention is particularly useful as a collapsible and removable body for a vehicle such as a truck, it is also useful in other applications as portable tool houses or fish houses or the like. One important shortcoming of prior devices is that it has been difiicult to provide a weatherproof joint at the intersection of the walls while at the same time allowing the panels to be quickly connected or disconnected.

Still another disadvantage of most if not all prior devices used with automotive vehicles is that the wall panels were thought to be necessarily permanently secured together to provide the required rigidity, and assembled they occupy a considerable amount of space thereby causing high storage and shipping costs.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to provide an improved collapsible shelter.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a collapsible shelter construction including a plurality of panels and an improved fastener for retaining the panels in connected relationship.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved shelter construction adapted for use as a truck bed cover.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved collapsible shelter having a plurality of panel members adapted to be connected along their edges and one of the panel members being larger in size than the remaining members and including side walls thereon whereby the other panels after being disassembled can be packed therein.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved shelter including fasteners connected between a plurality of panels for reliably locking the panels together when positioned at right angles to one another but allowing them to separate when pivoted to a predetermined oblique angle.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved shelter for vehicles including a removable panel extending almost entirely across the rear of the shelter whereby relatively large objects can be placed within the shelter.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, this invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which the same numerals refer to corresponding parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a rear perspective view of a truck having a shelter thereon embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged rear elevational view of the shelter according to FIGURE 1 partially broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view partially broken away taken on line 33 but drawn to a larger scale than FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a partial vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 2 and drawn to the scale of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a partial horizontal sectional view taken on line 55 of FIGURE 2 and drawn to a scale larger than FIGURES 3 and 4;

FIGURE 6 is a partial vertical sectional view taken on line 66 of FIGURE 1 and drawn to the scale of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 7 is a partial horizontal sectional view taken on line 77 of FIGURE 1 drawn to a scale between that of FIGURE 3 and FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 and drawn to the same scale showing the position of the panels as they appear after being disconnected from one another.

Referring now to the FIGURE 1, there is shown a shelter in accordance with the present invention indicated at 10. The shelter 10 includes a top panel 12 which is provided with a rearward extension or pocket 14 to be described more fully hereinbelow. The shelter 10 is also provided with a plurality of vertical walls including side walls 16 and 18, the lower edges of which are adapted to rest at 20 (FIGURE 1) upon the upward edges of the 'bed 22 of a pickup truck 24. Connected between the side walls is a rear wall 26 and a front wall 28 seen in FIGURE 3. The side walls 16 and 18 are each substantially shorter than the rear wall 26 which extends downwardly to the floor 22 of the truck bed.

Referring to FIGURE 3, each of the walls 16, 18, 26 and 23 is composed of a vertically disposed wall panel including a center section 30 which can be formed from a variety of substances but preferably is composed of an insulating material such as a rigid plastic foam. One suitable material is a foamed polystyrene plastic,

Bonded to the inner and outer surfaces of the center section 30 are sheets of a rigid protective material such as a sheet of thermosetting plastic 32 on the inward surface and a sheet of aluminum or the like 34 on the outward surface. Extending around the edges of the foamed plastic core 30 is a rectangular framework composed of wooden beams 36. As can be seen in FIGURE 3, the edges of both of sheets 34 and 32 overlap the beams 36.

The lower edges of the panels 16, 18, 26 and 28 are supported against lateral displacement in any suitable manner as by identical retainers 27, 29 and 31. The retainers 27, 29 and 31 are themselves supported by horizontally disposed flanges 33 which are secured to the sides of the truck bed in the case of retainers 27 and 31 and to the base of the truck bed in the case of retainer 29 by suitable means such as bolts 35, for example. The retainers also each include a pair of vertically disposed horizontally spaced and parallel flanges 33a and 33b. As clearly shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 4, the lower edges of the vertical panels rest between the flanges 33a and 33b. Any suitable means such as screws 23 may be used to secure the panels between the flanges.

In FIGURES 3, 7 and 8 the details of the panel connecting members are illustrated and reference is now had to those figures. Rigidly connected to the front and rear edges of the side walls 16 and 18 are vertically disposed fasteners or connecting members 40. The fasteners 40 can be secured to the panels in any suitable manner as by screws 42. Each fastener includes a generally U-shaped channel portion having parallel side walls 44 and 46 positioned adjacent the sheets 34 and 32 respectively and a forwardly extending retainer flange 48 including a channel or recess at the free end thereof having the form of the letter J as seen in transverse section, called a J-shaped hook 50.

The side edges of the front and rear walls 28 and 26 respectively each include connecting members or fasteners 52 that cooperate with the fastener connecting member 40 to form joints. Fasteners 52 have parallel side walls 54 and 56 forming a channel that embraces the edges of the panels. These channels are secured to the panels by any suitable fastening means such as screws 57. As best seen in FIGURES 7 and 8, the fasteners 52 are provided with shoulders 60 and centrally extending flanges 62 to define a false bottom against which the side edges of the front and rear panels abut. Engagement of the panel edges with the false bottom correctly locates the fastener 52 with respect to the panel. Extending normal to the inward end of the shoulder 60 is a wall 64. Between the wall 64 and the wall 56 is another wall 66 and extending outwardly a short distance from wall 64 is still another wall 68 which terminates at its outward end in a bead-like rail '70 which is offset with respect to the side wall 54. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 7, the rails 70 fit precisely within the J-shaped hooks 50, the walls 56 abutting the forward and rearward edges of the side panels.

While the invention has been illustrated with J-shaped hooks 50 on the side panels and fasteners 52 on the end panels, the positions of these members may be reversed, it being necessary only that a cooperating pair be used at any given corner.

It should be noted that as long as the front, rear and side panels have their respective connecting members engaged and are placed as shown in FIGURES 3 and 7, i.e., at right angles to one another, the panels will be rigidly connected in two planes. Lateral movement is prevented by the interaction between rails 70 and .l-shaped hooks 50 while longitudinal movement of the side panels is prevented by abutment between the connectors of the side panels and the adjacent portions of the front and rear panel connectors respectively.

The panels of the shelter can be separated from one another by swinging the rear edges of the side panels forwardly and outwardly, but they can also be separated by sliding any of the panels vertically relative to the remaining panels. Thus when space is limited laterally of the shelter, the side panel 16, for example, can be removed by sliding it upwardly until its lower edge clears the upward edge of the front and rear panels.

Referring now to FIGURES 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 which illustrate the rear panel of the shelter 10, the rear panel 26 is composed of a pair of relatively narrow vertically disposed side portions 260 and 26b and a removable center section 260 which extends almost the entire width of the rear panel 26. The panel 260 has in its center a door 80 of any convenient and well-known construction including a handle 82 and supported upon the panel 26c by vertically disposed hinges 84.

In most applications, the panel 260 will be retained in place as shown in the figures. When, on the other hand, a relatively large object is to be transported in the vehicle, the panel 26c is removed as will be described hereinbelow.

Referring now to FIGURES 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 it will be seen that the top panel 12 is composed of a horizontally disposed section 90 which bends downwardly at its forward end 92 to provide a generally vertically disposed front wall 94 and the front wall of pocket 14. Rigidly secured to section 90 are a pair of vertically disposed side walls 96 which extend rearwardly at 98 somewhat beyond the rear panel 26 to form the sides of pocket 14.

Extending between the lower edges of extension 98 is a transversely disposed frame member such as a wooden beam 100. The top panel 90 extends forwardly and downwardly at 104 and is secured at 106 to the rearward edge of the beam 100 to define the rear wall of pocket 14. This pocket 14 in top panel 12 is longer than the other panels and hence allows them to be stored inside top 12 when the shelter is disassembled.

Rigidly secured around the lower edge of the top panel 12 is a retainer such as a metal extrusion having an H- shaped cross-section called channel 108. The upwardly extending flanges of the channel 108 can be secured on either side of the lower edges of the roof 12 by means of any suitable fasteners such as screws 107. The downwardly extending flanges of channel 108 are adapted to fit telescopically over the upward edges of the side panels 16 and 18, the front panel 28 and the rear panel 26. The upward edges of the vertically disposed panels are releasably secured to the channel 108 by means of any suitable fasteners such as screws 109. Other types of fasteners can be employed in place of screws 109, should it be desired. The channel 108, and fasteners 40, 52 and 87, are preferably formed as aluminum extrusions.

As clearly shown in FIGURE 2, only the side portions 26a and 26b of the rear panel 26 extend upwardly intO the channel 108 and abut against the horizontal web thereof. The center panel 260, on the other hand, has an upward edge 110 which is spaced a slight distance below the horizontal web of the channel 108. Panel 260 can be raised a distance equal to the clearance between edge 110 and the web of channel 108. Since the depth of the channel formed by flanges 33a and 33b is less than the distance from edge 110 to the web of retainer 108, the distance panel 260 can be raised, the bottom of the panel when raised clears the flanges 33a and 33b and may be swung clear if the catches 97, described below, have been released.

Positioned vertically along the inward edges of the panels 26a and 26b (FIGURES 3 and 5) are a pair of channels 87 and 88 each including horizontally spaced and parallel flanges such as the ones 87a and 87b. Extending inwardly from the inside edge of the channel 87 is a vertically disposed flange 89 having a vertically disposed recess 91 therein within which is mounted sealing means such as an I-shaped resilient gasket 93. Similar flange, recess and gasket is provided for channel 88. Mounted for rotational movement about a horizontally disposed pin 95 is a fastener 97 including a handle 99 by which the fastener 97 can be pivoted to a position in which one end thereof wall overlap the inner edge of the flange 89 so as to lock the edges of the panel 260 in sealing engagement with the gasket 93. The pin 95 can, if desired, be resiliently mounted by the provision of a spring 95a. Several of these fasteners 97 are provided along each of the channels 87 and 88.

The shelter of the present invention is assembled by the following steps. First, connecting members 40 of the side panels 16 and 18 are hooked onto the rails of panel 28 as shown in FIGURE 8. Both side panels 16 and 18 are then pivoted rearwardly about an axis extending through the center of the rails 70 of panel 28 until they have reached the position of FIGURE 3 at which time they are secured to panel 28. This assembly is then lifted onto the truck bed and retainers 27, 29 and 31 secured to the truck bed. The rear panel 26 is then placed in position by sliding the same downwardly within the hooks at the rearward edges of the panels 16 and 18 and the retainer 29 is secured to truck bed 22. The panel 260 can then be placed in the position shown in FIGURE 4 and locked securely in place within the opening between the panels 26a and 26b by means of the latches 97, if panel 260 was not assembled to panel 26 previously. Top panel 12 is then placed in position with the horizontal web of the channel 108 abutting the upward edges of the front, side and rear panel portions 26a and 26b. The fasteners 109 are then placed in position so as to retain the top panel 12 in position. Disassembly is by the reverse process.

It should be noted that with the top 12 locked in position as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4, the vertically disposed panels will be securely locked in place. Moreover, as a result of the tortious path between the rails 70 and the adjacent hook members, a highly satisfactory weatherproof seal is formed between the panels. The panels can nevertheless be easily and quickly disassembled without the use of special tools. When disassembled, theside, front and rear panels can all be placed within the top panel 12 for convenient storage and shipment.

- It is apparent that many modifications and variations of this invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The specific embodiments described'are given by way of example only and the invention is limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A collapsible shelter comprising in combination a plurality of wall members and a roof, one of said wall members comprising a rear wall, said rear wall having a removable panel therein extended across almost the entire width of said rear panel, said removable panel slidably mounted within said rear wall for sliding movement vertically therein and wherein an upward extension is provided upon the lower edge of the rear panel for preventing movement of the lower end of the removable panel along an axis extending normal to the surface thereof until the removable panel has been lifted a distance suflicient to clear the upper edge of said extension.

2. A weather-tight demountable panel joint comprising: a channel member having side walls and adjoining back wall with a flange extending past the back Wall on the opposite side to the opening in said channel, terminating in a J-like in section hook formation, a false bottom channel member having a bea d-like rail offset with respect to one of the false bottom channel member sides and of a size to fit the inside of said J in section hook-like formation on said first channel member flange end; the dis tance from the inside radius of said I in section hook formation to said adjoining back wall on said first channel member being equal to the greatest distance from the radius of said bead-like rail on said false bottom channel member to the side thereof most distant from said raillike formation, said channel member being of a size to embrace panels of which said panel joint is intended for use whereby when one edge of a panel is equipped with said channel member and a second channel member edge is equipped with said false bottom channel member, said panel edges may be secured together by engaging said rail in said I in section hook formation at the end of said flange and pivoting said false bottom channel member until it engages said adjoining back wall of said channel member.

3. A demountable weatherproof enclosure comprising a front panel, back panel, side panels and a roof member, hook-like J in section flanges secured to opposed edges of some panels and complementary rail members secured to adjacent edges of adjacent panels whereby said J in section flanges may partially embrace said rails and secure adjacent panel edges together in weatherproof relationship while held at a predetermined angle to each other, said roof member having downwardly projecting channel members secured to its lower portions that embrace the tops of both said side panels and said front and back panels to hold said panels at said predetermined angle relative to each other whereby said J in section flanges and rails remain engaged as a weatherproof joint.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said roof member includes a projecting portion thereof extending beyond its panel embracing channels, whereby said roof member has a longer interior dimension in one direction than any of said panels joined with it.

5. The structure of claim 3 in which said rear panel is formed in three portions comprising two rear edge panels joined to the respective adjacent side panel edges and a central rear panel releasably secured to said edge rear panels forming a complete rear panel, said central rear panel having an entrance door mounted therein; whereby access through said rear panel and to the interior of said closure is provided and said closure may be opened wider for the receipt of articles having greater dimensions than those of said entrance door by removing said center panel and without the necessity for disassembling said closure.

6. The combination of a pickup truck having a truck bed and a retainer means thereon positioned along the side and rear edges of said truck bed and a collapsible and removable body formed from a pair of flat vertically disposed side walls including vertically disposed bead means at the front and rear edges thereof, a front and rear wall each including a vertically disposed hook means on the edges thereof, said hook means constructed to releasably engage with the bead means provided on the front and rear edges of the side walls and a top member releasably mounted upon the upward edges of said front, side and rear panels.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said top member comprises a relatively flat panel having side, front and rear walls which extend downwardly a short distance therefrom to define a compartment and wherein each of the side, front and rear panels is enough smaller than the compartment to be placed therein for shipment.

8. The combination of a pickup truck and a shelter comprising a pair of vertically disposed side walls, a front and rear wall releasably connected to the forward and rearward edges of the side walls respectively, and a pair of fastener members at each intersection between the front, side and rear panels, each pair of fasteners comprising a first fastener member formed from an extrusion including a pair of parallel flanges adapted to extend on opposite surfaces of the edge of one of the panels andjan extension including a rail-like bead extending parallel with the adjacent edge of the connected panel and wherein the other of said fasteners of said pair comprises an elongated extrusion including a pair of parallel walls adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of the edge of the panel secured thereto and an elongated extension projecting outwardly from the parallel walls and including a channel having a J-shaped crosssectional configuration constructed to extend over and enclose said bead-like rail to retain adjacent panels together when the shelter is assembled.

9. The structure of claim 8 wherein the top panel includes a retainer extending around the entire lower edge thereof, said retainer comprising a generally H- shaped member including a horizontally disposed web one surface of which abuts the lower edge of the top panel, a pair of downwardly extending, parallel flanges engaging opposite sides of the upward edge of the side, front and rear panels, and fastener means connecting said downwardly extending flanges to the upward edges of the side, front and rear panels.

10. A combination of a motor vehicle having a truck bed thereon and a collapsible and removable shelter mounted upon said truck bed comprising in combination a plurality of substantially flat side, front and rear walls releasably connected together along their abutting edges, 21 top wall removably mounted along the upward edge of said side, front and rear walls, said rear wall including a pair of lateral panel members and a central panel member extended substantially the width of said rear wall and removably mounted therein between said lateral panel members, said center panel member being mounted for vertical sliding movement and upon being moved upwardly the lower end thereof may be moved along an axis normal to the surface of the truck bed thereby enabling the lower end of the center panel member to be swung rearwardly whereby said center panel member may be removed so as to enable relatively large objects to be placed within said shelter.

11. A Weather-tight demountable panel joint comprising a first channel member having side walls and adjoining back wall with a flange extended past the back wall on the opposite side of the opening of said channel, said flangeterminating in a hook, a second channel member having a bead-like rail adjacent one edge thereof of a size to fit the inside of the hook of the first channel member, the distance from the inside of said hook to said adjoining back wall of the first channel member being equal to the greatest distance from said bead-like rail to the opposite edge of said second channel member, whereby said first and second channel members are secured together by engaging said bead-like rail in said hook and pivoting said first channel member until the adjoining back wall engages said second channel member.

12. A demountable weather-proof enclosure comprising a front panel, back panel, side panels and a roof member, hook-like flanges secured to opposed edges of some panels and complementary rail members secured to adjacent edges of adjacent panels whereby said hook-like flanges may partially embrace said rails and secure adjacent panel edges together in weatherproof relationship while held at a predetermined angle to each other, said roof member having at least one downwardly projected member secured to its lower portions, said member engaged with said side panels and said front and back panels to hold said panels at said predetermined angle relative to each other whereby said flanges and rails remain engaged as a weatherproof joint.

13. The combination of a truck body and a shelter mounted thereon, said shelter including a rear wall and a top roof panel, the improvement comprising a removable panel extended substantially the entire width of said rear wall, and coacting means on said top roof panel and truck body cooperating with said removable panel to releasably hold said removable panel in engagement with the remainder of said rear wall whereby upon removal of said removable panel relatively large objects may be placed within the shelter through the opening in the rear wall.

14. The structure of claim 13 wherein said coacting means on said top roof panel and truck body comprise a horizontal top channel member secured to the roof panel and a horizontal bottom channel secured to the truck body, said channel members having flanges cooperating with said removable panel to releasably hold the removable panel in engagement with the remainder of the rear wall.

15. A collapsible shelter for use on vehicles comprising in combination: a plurality of vertical walls; a top wall, said top wall including a shoulder extending about the periphery thereof and a flange projecting downwardly adjacent said shoulder whereby said top wall fits telescopically over said vertical walls with said shoulder resting upon the upward edges of said vertical walls; an elongated connecting member positioned in vertically disposed relationship along the vertical edge of each of the vertical walls; a recess in half of said connecting members; and, an extension upon the other half of said connecting members, said extensions projecting into said recesses for releasably locking together adjacent walls at adjacent edges.

16. The combination of a pick-up truck and a shelter mounted thereon, said shelter including a rear wall and a roof, the improvement comprising: a removable center panel extended substantially the entire width of said rear Wall, first means for releasably attaching the center panel to said rear wall and roof and second means secured to the truck cooperating with the first means to releasably hold the center panel in engagement with said rear wall, said removable center panel having a door, the door being adapted to allow personnel to leave and enter said shelter and removal of said removable center panel allowing relatively large objects to be placed within the shelter through said rear wall.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,016,032 1/1912 Pruden 1892 2,876,275 3/1959 Schulz 189-2 X 3,023,463 3/1962 Bigelow 1892 X 3,097,400 7/1963 Davis 20-2 3,131,001 4/1964 Meyer 20-2 X 3,139,958 7/1964 De Witt 189-2 FOREIGN PATENTS 625,501 8/1961 Canada.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

MILTON BUCHLER, Examiner. 

1. A COLLAPSIBLE SHELTER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A PLURALITY OF WALL MEMBERS AND A ROOF, ONE OF SAID WALL MEMBERS COMPRISING A REAR WALL, SAID REAR WALL HAVING A REMOVABLE PANEL THEREIN EXTENDED ACROSS ALMOST THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF SAID REAR PANEL, SAID REMOVABLE PANEL SLIDABLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID REAR WALL FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT VERTICALLY THEREIN AND WHEREIN AN UPWARD EXTENSION IS PROVIDED UPON THE LOWER EDGE OF THE REAR PANEL FOR PREVENTING MOVEMENT OF THE LOWER END OF THE REMOVABLE PANEL ALONG AN AXIS EXTENDING NORMAL TO THE SURFACE THEREOF UNTIL THE REMOVABLE PANEL HAS BEEN LIFTED A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO CLEAR THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID EXTENSION. 